Sweet shop vendors

We will chase after stringless kites

Down the road

Stop at sweet shops to taste the color

Of your eyes when your teeth sink in

To the flesh of a flower I picked for you

We will lay underneath moss-covered bridges

On patches of grass and wildflowers

The sky is running on empty these days and

We are all so exhausted

When the sun sets, we go back to hiding

Crumbling to the sound of the wind not ours

We look for light behind the rocks and

Every breath you take is a countdown till dawn

For when we can flood these empty lakes

With our tears

For now, I exist

And you are here too

And underneath the scanty seconds after every breath drawn

The little sweet shop vendors behind these

Smooth rocks, bubble wraps, and last night's leftovers

Call to us

To make our insipid world

A little bit sweeter

Fahad is a university admission candidate.